Oscars

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Periscope etc. this is not new: image is at the center of our society. Caring about how we look and how we are is the key purpose of our social media usage. No? With all the filters available, all our pictures are close to the idea we have of paradise. Although your good friend will always tell you: “don’t bother about what people think”, “stop comparing yourself” etc., you cannot help it. But such good advice is actually… good! Thinking about others will mainly create negative thoughts. Comparison can be done when the items compared are based on similar standards. Why and how image can support sustainable efforts?

#B-Corp #certification #forchangemakers
Created in 2006, the label Benefit Corporation, or B-Corp, aims to change the business market by certifying organizations which do not simply look towards being the best company in the world, but the best for the world. One of its founders, Jay Coen Gilbert, considers that 21st century companies are those which create value for society as well as for their shareholders. The B-Corp certification is delivered by the nonprofit organization B Lab and relies on rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Independently to the certification, companies have the opportunity to self-assess themselves with a free questionnaire, B Impact Assessment, and get a comparable scoring to their peers. A good score is any score above 0. However, to be certified B-Corp, a Company must reach at least 80.

Many companies are publishing their scores but, if not certified, they must indicate that the score has not been verified. To get the certification, further assessment is performed by B Lab on the basis of documentation. As with all certifications, there are fees to be paid. The fees are determined upon a companies’ sales figures. For example, a company with up to $149 999 in annual sales may pay annual fees of around $500; whereas a company with up to $750 million in sales may pay annual fees of around $45 000. The process includes an action plan to enable reaching the top score. Today there are more than 1 600 certified B Corps from 42 countries. Among them are large corporations such as Patagonia and Ben & Jerry’s! Furthermore, Danone works with B Lab to define a B Corp certification for multinational companies.

#Nofoodwaste #celebrities #Oscars
Many are acting to reduce food waste, through different initiatives and even apps! The Top 10 listed by The Guardian are: 11th Hour (Singapore), NoFoodWasted (The Netherlands), FoodCloud (Ireland and the UK), Cheetah (West Africa), MintScraps (US and Thailand), No Food Waste (India), Winnow (Europe, UAE, Asia, Australia), Too Good To Go (Europe and the US), Wise up on Waste (Europe), Yo No Desperdicio (Spain). Such endeavor has also spread among celebrities! The day after the 89th Academy Awards Oscar, everyone talked about the (most) famous mistake. What happened was of course important to tell, however it put backwards the great initiative led by Freida Pinto. Thanks to the actress, about 800 people in Los Angeles could be fed with the ceremony’s leftovers and public awareness could be raised!

#Sundance #movies #documentary
Still in cinema, the 33rd edition of the Sundance Film Festival was focused on Climate Change. A new subsection named the New Climate, included 14 documentaries! Widely spread, such images will help raise awareness and probably change people’s perception towards sustainability?